Virginia AG Herring supports legalizing recreational marijuana

Attorney General Mark Herring has tweeted his support for the legalization of recreational marijuana in Virginia.

“Virginians know we can do better. It’s time to move toward legal, regulated adult use,” Herring said in his Oct. 1 retweet of a study that revealed more than half of Virginians agree with him.

The study, published by the University of Mary Washington last month, showed that 61% of Virginians support legalization of recreational marijuana, while 34% oppose legalization. The remaining respondents said they were uncertain.

This is a noticeable uptick from a UMW study conducted in 2017 that showed 39% of Virginians supported legalizing marijuana for personal use. The 2017 question was worded differently, asking if marijuana should be legalized in general, for personal or medical use, or remain illegal. A plurality said medical marijuana should be legal and the rest (17%) were opposed to legalization.

Recreational use of marijuana is becoming an increasingly popular issue for Virginia politicians as they go into the November State Senate elections and the upcoming 2021 gubernatorial elections.

Stephen Farnsworth, a UMW political science professor, said he believes legalization is several years away, but the timeline could change if a Democratic majority is elected in November. [Read more at Virginia Lawyers Weekly]